


February Issue

by EonAO3



Series: Picture Perfect [7]
Category: Sebastian Stan - Fandom
Genre: Celebrity Crush, Engagement, F/M, Fluff, Interviews, Love Stories, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Sebastian Stan fandom - Freeform, Secret Crush, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:34:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6099046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EonAO3/pseuds/EonAO3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian Stan sits down for a casual interview and talks love and relationships, just in time for Valentine's Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** From Romania, With Love  **

It's February and love is in the air!

Whether you’re single and loving it or eating chocolates with your bae,

there's no denying the saccharin sweetness of Valentine's Day.

Fair warning now: call Wilford Brimley and order your diabetic testing supplies,

because we're about to send your blood sugar through the roof!

We sat down with Marvel movie star, Sebastian Stan,

to talk about what makes long distance relationships work, his recent

engagement to his 'The Martian' co-star and leading lady of his heart, [y/f&l/n],

and what the future holds for everyone's favorite lovebirds.

OR: The Interview In Which Sebastian Stan Is Totally In Love With [y/f&l/n].

It's a Tuesday afternoon in sunny Los Angeles. It's two days after the 74th annual Golden Globes

and I'm sitting at a table in the rooftop bar of an upscale LA hotel with Sebastian Stan.

It doesn't take much to get the Romanian born actor/heartthrob to open up about love.

Just a couple of well mixed Basil Expositions and the mere mention of his fiancé’s name.

...

continue reading below the break or click on the link to watch the full interview

Click >>here<< to see the full interview.

**::click!::**

Okay. So you know this is going to print in our February issue ...

:Sebastian nods with an affirmative hum:

And one of the biggest things you've got going lately, besides Marvel blowing up for you and all the other new projects coming your way, is [y/f&l/n] .

:Sebastian snorts a laugh, his eyes taking a long blink as he dips his chin down:

Mind if we talk about that? It _is_ going to be Valentine's Day when people can read and see this, after all .

"Yeah, Valentine's Day. Right," Sebastian agreed, gesturing a hand toward the obvious.

So can we talk about love and romance and candy hearts with Sebastian Stan ?

"Those little chalky things?" he asked, his nose wrinkling up in distaste. "No. I hate those things."

Okay. No candy hearts, but how about heart eyes? When did you first say 'I love you' to [y/n] ?

"Wow," he said, eyes going wide. "Just jump right into the deep end, huh?"

Well, it _is_ for Valentine's Day .

"For Valentine's Day," Sebastian repeated, sounding resolute as he straightened up in his chair. "Yeah." :Sebastian clears his throat: "Um, I thi-...Is it bad that I'm not sure?" he laughed, his eyebrows peaking in mild worry.

It could be.

:Sebastian laughs again, running a hand through his hair and puffing air out of his cheeks: "I think it was probably a while after we started dating...It _was_ a while. I mean, but we didn't live in the same city so people were flying back and forth and it was kinda hard for a while."

Did you say it first ?

:Sebastian nods, a little unsure: "Yeah. Yeah, I think I did."

Do you remember why you did? How did you know when to say it ?

"I think I was thinking about it for a while before I said it," Sebastian said, giving a half shrug. "Ya know, there's all these things that people do and you kinda figure out, as you get to know them, the things that endear them to you. So, I think everything just finally, um, adds up and you just kinda know, like, 'Okay. This is it. I love all these things about this person and I'm gonna tell her'."

Do you remember what made you finally say it out loud ?

:Sebastian takes a thoughtful pause before a nod of clarity: "Yeah. Yeah, I do, now," he said, a new excitement in his voice. "I was with her in LA. I went out while she was filming to see her for a long weekend. I was just coming back for the end of the Civil War press tour and she'd just bought the house and she'd been there, like, barely two weeks, so we're still unpacking and stuff. It was a pretty demanding shoot she'd just started and, between that and trying to move, she was so run down, so, we uh, we just ended up staying home all weekend and lived on the couch.

"It was Saturday or Sunday morning and she'd been up early 'cause she still had to meet her trainer for the movie at like, 7. So, she comes home two hours later and goes into the kitchen and there's this huge crash," Sebastian said, eyes bugging and hands waving open. "I go running in, all worried like, "Are you alright? The fuck just happened?' and she's standing there, coffee cup broken at her feet, coffee just _every_ where, still holding the coffee pot and lookin' down at the floor."

:His hand raises up and fists as if he were holding an imaginary pot of coffee and looking at a mess on the floor, for a moment. He stops, trying to shake off the urge to laugh: "And she looks so tired and sad, and she just goes, "Aww, coffee" in the most heartbroken way I ever heard her say _any_ thing. She puts the pot back on the burner and she goes, "Fuck mornings". An' she's trying to smile, but she's just _so_ tired that all she can do is pout and she looks so defeated, like she could cry. _I'm_ trying not to laugh, because it's not a big deal. It's just coffee and a broken mug, but she looks, like, genuinely upset and I know she's exhausted. So, I just gave her a hug and, like, two seconds later, she's crying over coffee and a broken mug. That's when I told her. When we're standing in a puddle of coffee in the kitchen."

I shouldn't laugh, but that's- 

"No. Go ahead," Sebastian assured the interviewer. "That's funny. It's not perfect or romantic or anything, but it's what happened. It just...That was the thing, you know? Her pouting over spilled coffee, because I think she's adorable when she's stomping around a little grumpy or she's whiny 'cause she's tired or doesn't feel good." :He laughs and shakes his head: "She's gonna be so mad at me for saying that."

For calling her out on being whiny ?

:Interviewer laughs with Sebastian:

"Yeah." Sebastian grimaces before he puts up a hand to wave it off: "I don't care. It's cute. I think she's cute when she's a little wimpy." :He shrugs: "She's just so put together all the time and she, uh, just puts in so much of herself and effort into whatever she's doing. She works a lotta long hours, goes to the gym, and still's always making time for her family and friends. She's keeping up this _crazy_ schedule all the time and hell if I know how she does it. But when she finally gets these moments in between, when she lets herself slow down and it's okay to relax, you get all of these moments where there's no cameras and it's just us being us together. And I get to see this amazing person, you know? Like, in her every day, natural state and she's tired in sweatpants or excited and laughing about something she saw or crying over coffee. And she's human and she's perfect and flawed at the same time and I just-":Sebastian shrugs with a warm smile: "I love that about her. She's just real."

You're in town with us now because you just attended the 2017 Golden Globes. Pretty low key night compared to the last time, probably. Bold move, going public at the Globes last year .

"Go big or go home, right?" Sebastian suggests, with a raise of a cocky eyebrow.

Exactly! How long had you two been together before that ?

"Not long, really," Sebastian said, with a thoughtful furrow. "Few months maybe? Uhh...We kinda figured out there was this mutual attraction when we were at the end of the press tour for 'The Martian'. It was Beijing, actually."

So you two were dating when you posted that pic of you and your friends at a New Year's Eve party ?

:Sebastian gives a bashful nod: "Yeah. I suckered her into coming out for New Year's Eve. She actually was able to stay the weekend, see some sights and meet some of my friends. It was the second trip to New York for her, at that point."

The GMA interview when you said you weren't single. Was she the one sending you messages on the break? Was she there ?

"She was there," Sebastian nodded. "That was her. She was watching from her hotel room."

Secret rendezvouses in New York City? Sounds romantic .

"It was pretty good," he conceded, taking a drink of his cocktail.

How did you manage to keep that a secret ?

"Well, we weren't exactly hiding," Sebastian admitted, giving a tip of his head. "It's just no one ever noticed."

So, a couple months of dating and then, boom. Red carpet. Why the Globes ?

"It wasn't because it was the Globes," Sebastian said, with a shrug. "I was going to be in LA for the show and she wasn't even sure she was gonna go at first. We figured, if we didn't go together, it'd be a waste of a day in town to not see each other."

It just happened to be the Golden Globes .

"It just happened to be the Golden Globes, yeah," Sebastian agreed. "It was hard to have time together, at first. I just wanted to spend time with her and that it happened to be there, well...It didn't matter. People would've figured it out eventually anyway, right? So why not just put it out there on your terms?"

You guys were the talk of the town. I think someone actually checked and figured out that you two were the most photographed celebrities at the show .

"Really? Wow!" Sebastian marveled, with an awed grin and raised eyebrows as he adjusts the way he's sitting in his seat. "That's...I don't know what that is. But she deserved it. Did you see her?"

Yeah! I did. You guys looked amazing .

"Well, she," Sebastian noted, his mouth pulling to one side and hand gesturing the correction of the interviewer. " _She_ looked amazing. Why would anybody be talking about _me_ when I'm standing next to that? She was beautiful. She is beautiful."

Even first thing in the morning? After the gym? When she's no makeup, messy hair, just sitting around in sweats ?

" _Especially_ when she's any of that," he insisted, flashing a proud smile.

You said it was rough for a while. What was rough? The long distance part ?

:Sebastian nods: "Yeah, of course. That's hard for anybody."

LA to New York is a long way. How did you survive ?

:Sebastian laughs quietly, looks down sheepishly: "I earned _a lot_ of frequent flier miles," he laughed. "No, we did. Um...We made as many trips as we could, tried to sync schedules. We talk on the phone every day when one of us is traveling. So, you know, you gotta put in the effort. FaceTime," he added, like he just remembered. "FaceTime is real good for that. We do a lot of FaceTime or send each other a picture or something we think the other would like or think is funny. Just something to say, 'I'm thinking about you'. Things like that."

You make it sound easy .

:Sebastian laughs out loud, bending forward in his seat a bit: "She said that," he pointed out excitedly. "When we first got together, we talked about 'How are we gonna do this?' and she said that. Like, I think those exact words."

So it just _sounds_ easy .

"Definitely sounds easy, but it's not. Kudos to the people who pull it off."

But you two pulled it off. You guys moved in together. You're both living in New York. How's that going? Why New York ?

"The pace is just different there," Sebastian mused. "That's the best way to describe it. I think that's a fair way to, uh, to say it. My family is there. [Y/n] is from Indiana, so that's closer to her family. So, there's a kind of convenience to it."

But you guys keep a home here in LA still .

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "There's the house [y/n] bought a year or so ago."

She's not ready to give up California ?

"She loooves the beach here," he agreed, his eyes wide for emphasis. "So, maybe it's a little that, but really it just makes sense. It's nice to be in LA and be able to go home after work and actually _go home."_

So, is she not quite sold on New York ?

"Oh, she's sold on New York," Sebastian assured the interviewer. "She likes them both for different reasons. It's nice to be able to be in a place in life where you can have it both ways. That she can have her cake and eat it too."

Speaking of cake, you guys got engaged a couple weeks ago. How's the wedding planning going ?

"How's the wedding planning going?" Sebastian repeated. "Umm, I don't think we're really doing anything with it yet. I mean, I bet she an' her mom and girlfriends are, but ' _we_ '? I don't think _we_ have really gotten to anything. We just got done with Christmas. One thing at a time, ya know?"

Just tell you when and where and you'll show up ?

"Just tell me when and where," Sebastian said, with a sure nod and a laugh. "No, I'm interested. I am. I wanna help, but, um, ultimately, it's whatever she wants. Whatever makes her happy."

That'd make you happy ?

"That makes me happy," he agreed, with a fond smile.

So no bridal shows and magazines for you? No secret Pinterest account ?

"Probably not. No. No Pinterest for me."

Are you going to be a hands off kind off groom or do you want to be in the fray ?

"I wanna go to the cake and food tastings. That's it," Sebastian deadpanned, a hand waving across the front of him to cut off any further discussion before a laugh. "I'm just kidding. I wanna help. I'll chime in wherever she lets me."

Anything about the wedding you'd insist on? Something you want or have to have ?

:Sebastian thoughtfully looks up: "Not that I can think of right now, but I was serious about the cake part. The rest of it? We'll see when we start getting into it. As long as she likes it. That's the thing for me."

Already deferring to "the wife".  :Interviewer gestures with finger quotation marks: Sounds like you'll be a good husband.

"God, I hope so!" Sebastian begged, shifting in his seat again and taking another drink. 

Did you always know you were the marrying type ?

:Sebastian shifts in his seat, leaning forward to put a hand back on his glass on the table: "Actually, no," he grimaced. "I don't know. I've definitely thought about marriage before. It's- Marriage is..." :Sebastian puffs air out of his cheeks, eyes scrunching in thought: "I definitely feel that, spending the rest of your life with someone, uh, married or not, is, is definitely the priority and something that was always possible. I- Look, I don't have good examples of marriage in my life. You know what I mean?

"My parents were divorced when I was 2, or 3. My dad remarried, didn't work out for him. My mom remarried, it was a beautiful marriage, um, but at the same time it was sorta- It had its ups and downs. Um. So I don't have a lot of good examples of marriage, so I'm kinda torn on it. I, I love the _idea_ of it, um, but I don't equate it anymore, as I used to, in my twenties, to, like, longevity or a necessity to love and having someone for the rest of your life."

So, you're not the most eligible bachelor anymore, but you're on the fence about marriage? How'd this happen then? How do you get around the 'bad examples', like you say you have, and propose to your girlfriend when you could maybe just go on living together happily without the labels 'husband and wife' ?

:Sebastian nods: "It sounds a bit hypocritical or something, right?" he tittered, shyly. "I, uh- Well, look, just because I have these examples, that I have and know these people in my life, who haven't had the storybook ending, who it didn't work out for, it doesn't exclude the possibility. Sometimes, you just gotta be brave, you know? And [y/n]? She's the one to be brave for. You kinda sit back and look at things and go, 'Yeah, this is working out. It's great. This- Maybe we can make it.' And it's still scary as hell," Sebastian admitted, cracking an awkward smile, "having that in the back of your mind, like, we could end up divorced or something, but, man, the idea that we don't- That's it. That's why. I mean, could we not get married and just live together and everything be okay? Yeah, sure. But, at the same time, it's not just about me and what I know.

"[Y/n]'s mom and dad, they've been together forever," Sebastian explained, with a broad sweep of his hand across him. "Has it been perfect? Probably not. But there's an argument, right there. They're doing it. And I think, since that's [y/n]'s example, I think I always kinda knew, in the back of my mind, that marriage was something she'd want. And they say, you know, 'when you find the one'..." :Sebastian shrugs and shakes his head: "And now, looking at everything, I think, we're actually coming in ahead of the curve. You know, living in different cities for awhile, having to be gone on shoots and press, it tests you. It builds character in a relationship, to be separated and be able to stick together and put in the effort to be there for each other, even when you can't be physically. You try harder. I think, in a lotta ways, our relationship is better for it. It's stronger for it. It's something else to make you more confident about doing it. And I think that's gonna be the difference for us."

Tell us about the engagement .

:Sebastian laughs: "What about it?"

Well, let's start from the beginning. Was there some moment that just made you go, 'I'm going to ask her to marry me' ?

"I don't think so," Sebastian mused, rubbing at the back of his neck with a discerning squint in his eye. "I mean, was it one thing or a moment? No. It's a whole bunch of things. Superficial things and things that are kinda personally important to you. Ya know? It's who they are as a person, how they treat you and other people, their family and friends. Figuring out what they like and what you both like and how you get along. You get to know them and, um, things just start to click together and maybe it's not one thing that makes you realize this person is the one. Maybe it's a million little things. The way they smile or something they do for you if you've had a bad day. All the things you do together, places you go. You just kind of, um, realize that this is it." :Sebastian gestures as if he's holding something out in front of him: "This is what I've been looking for and what I want and it's here, in this one person and I'm gonna ask this person to marry me so that we can always have this, ya know?"

When did you know she was your 'one person' ?

:Sebastian blows air through puffed cheeks with wide eyes, carding a hand through his hair: "You know, I think, it was probably a few months before I actually did it. Like, probably three or four months, maybe."

Okay, let's do the math. You guys started dating in Beijing, so that's about middle or late November. Before Thanksgiving, right ?

"Yeah?" Sebastian thought, squinting to look around for the answer. "I wanna say that sounds good. Like the 18th or 19h, maybe? No...It was the 18th."

Hold on. You know what day you started dating ?

"I remember because we went on this tour to the Forbidden City that morning," he explained. "So, there were a few things memorable about that day."

We're gonna have to go back to those Beijing premier pics and see if we can pick up any clues .

"I'm kinda surprised no one did," he admitted. "I think I'd been looking at her with puppy dog eyes for weeks by then. I don't know how she didn't catch on sooner."

You must have been playing it pretty cool .

"I must have," Sebastian laughed.

How did you two figure it out? How'd you know you were both attracted to each other? Was there much flirting on set or... ?

"No," he shook his head. "Actually, on set, while we were filming, no. Our characters had this real, uh, subtle kind of secret romance in the film. So, there was that. But, for us, no. We were just actors, playing these parts, and when you work with someone for months, um, you become friends. So, we were friends for a while. We've known each other for, like, two and a half years. I met her before filming started. That was November 2014 and I think we were doing table reads and stuff, like, a month or two before that. So, it was about early September that year when we met."

Did you two hit it off right away ?

"Yeah, I think we did," Sebastian nodded. "It's sometimes a bit awkward. Maybe you don't know these people but you're gonna be working together for months on end and you so you just kind of introduce yourself and hope you click. Which is something you really hope for when you've got a certain kind of relationship to get across on screen like we did."

And you 'clicked' .

"We did," he nodded. "We really did. Everybody did on this one. It was great. But [y/n], she's got such a great sense of humor and this personality that just kinda draws people in. She was so easy to get along with right away, for everybody, and we found out we had some things in common to talk about and it just kinda was there. Here's this girl and she's fun and energetic and talented. Who wouldn't want to be friends with her? We were great friends by the end of the shoot. Kinda sarcastic, picking on each other, giving each other shit, but at the same time, like helping each other with scenes and remembering to ask about the other's family or something they mentioned they were doing."

So, you met and became friends in September 2014, started dating on November 18th, 2015, and you're holding hands in front of the world by January 2016. Somewhere around, say, what? August, you decide to propose and you popped the question before Christmas .

"Yes," Sebastian answered before a drink.

It's kind of a short romance. You were together less than a year, maybe just six or seven months and you knew? Six or seven long distance relationship months, mind you .

:Sebastian leans his left arm on the arm of his seat, running his fingertips on his right hand through the short hair over his ear: "It does sound short when you say it like that. It _sounds_ short, but, like I said, we'd been friends for a little over a year before we started dating. So, uh, we already had time to get to know each other. She moved out to New York mid-July, so we were living together for a little while before I decided."

When did you know you were going to ask her to marry you? What made you decide, 'This is it' ?

"[Y/n] was back in LA for a photocall for the Dior campaign," Sebastian said, scratching at his dimpled chin. "She went out two days before my birthday and she wasn't gonna be back in time. She actually had the photoshoot one day and a, uh, a speaking appearance at a charity dinner the night of my birthday. It was all set up months ahead of time. There just wasn't anything to do about it. So, LA is three hours behind New York, right? I'm waking up to be at the gym by 8 and, I swear, exactly a minute before the alarm clock goes off, the phone rings and singing into the phone is [y/n], doing this, uh, breathy Marilyn Monroe 'Happy Birthday'." :Sebastian pauses, shaking his head with a brief laugh: "She woke up, before four in the morning in LA, just so she could beat the alarm and sing me 'Happy Birthday'."

Because she was going to miss your birthday, she wanted your day to start out good .

"Exactly," Sebastian agreed, with a forward gesture and a nod. "Who does that?"

[Y/n], apparently .

"She does. That's her" Sebastian smiled, warmly. "That's the stuff she does."

So, you decided to marry her for her killer Marilyn Monroe impersonation ?

:Sebastian laughs: "No. It was good, though. Sounded just like her."

What then ?

"She, uh, she came home," he answered, with a shy smile and helpless shrug.

She skipped out on the charity dinner ?

"No. No, she did the dinner, made her speech, everything," Sebastian explained. "And then she hopped in a car, barely catches this 8 o'clock flight, and came home. She didn't even take time to change. She flew in the dress she wore for the dinner. It's, like, a five and a half hour flight and she's stuck in this dress and heels for it. Next thing I know, here's this exhausted looking angel crawling into bed in couture. It's, like, 5:30 in the morning," he shook his head, "but she's got this little package of, um, of those- those little Hostess cupcakes that she stuck birthday candles in and she says, as long as the sun didn't come up, she didn't miss my birthday. So, it's fucking 5:30 in the morning and we're sitting in bed, eating Hostess cupcakes, and that was it. I thought, 'Here's this girl, and she flew across the country in the middle of the night, to fist fight the fucking sun just to wish me happy birthday'. And I'm like, that's it. I'm done. She'd do anything for me and I'd do anything for her. I'm done. It's her."

That's incredible .

:Sebastian casually shrugs: "That's what it's always been."

Did you talk to anybody about what you were thinking? Your friends try to talk you out of it or anything ?

"No. No, everybody, my friends and family, they all love her. They get along great. There was a night, where [y/n] was out with a friend to a movie, um, or something, and I met up with a couple 'a my friends for dinner, and I was like, 'Guys, I think I'm gonna ask her to marry me'. And they were like, 'Do it! Yeah!'"

You got the bro vote .

"The bro vote. Yeah," Sebastian snickered.

Did you talk to any of her friends about it? What about your family ?

"I actually talked to my mom first," Sebastian said, pushing a hand back through his hair. "I told her, I was like, "Ma, I love her and I think I wanna marry her'. And she asked if I was sure, because you don't waste people's time with something like this with thoughts. You either are or you aren't. And I told her, I am. I said, 'I _do_ want to marry her. I don't just think, I know. This is the girl I wanna wake up with everyday'.

And if your mother approves... 

"You're set! Yeah. She does approve," Sebastian assured her. "They get along great. They're pretty close."

And [y/n]'s family? What do they think of you ?

"I think they like me alright," Sebastian shrugged, with a humble smile. "I actually-" :Sebastian clears his throat: "I, uh, flew out to Indianapolis one day, to talk her mom and dad about it."

You flew out for one day? To ask to marry their daughter ?

"For a couple of hours, really," Sebastian nodded, with a boyish smile. "That's something you do face to face. That's not a phone call."

How'd you pull that off ?

"She took the day to hang out with her girlfriends at the beach and I told her I had some meetings for the day with my manager and stuff."

So, you lied .

"Technically, no," Sebastian corrected, holding up a finger. "I did have a meeting that day."

A technicality, but we'll let it slide. So, what did you say ?

"I got in late morning, we went to lunch-"

Did you buy ?

"I _did_ buy. Yes," Sebastian laughed. "We had lunch and I told them why I was there, that I was gonna ask [y/n] to marry me and that I wanted their blessing."

You asked their permission? That's so gentlemanly of you. So classic .

:Sebastian shrugs, a humble shake of his head and a possible hint of a blush with a meek smile: "Her family is very important to her. Family's important to both of us. She's their only daughter, ya know? It never occurred to me not to."

What did you say to them ?

"I said a lot of things. I told them how much a loved and cared about her, how wonderful she is, how happy she makes me. I told them, 'She's the most incredible woman I ever met and all I wanna do is spend every day just tryin' to make her happy'.

And they gave you their blessing .

"And they gave me their blessing," Sebastian parroted with a proud nod and smile.

And you hauled ass back to New York and she never knew .

"She found out eventually, of course," Sebastian said, "but I was home before she was. I was probably only gone, um, like, six or seven hours."

Okay. You've got everyone's approval and blessings. Now what do you do ?

"I freak out."

:Interviewer and Sebastian both laugh:

"I kinda did. I freaked out, like, 'Oh my god. What kind of ring does she want? Where am I gonna do it?' There's, like, um, all these questions that come up all of a sudden that you didn't think about before."

Well, obviously, you start with the ring .

"Right. You have to," Sebastian shrugged, holding his hand out in agreement. "You have to give her a ring."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments welcome! Leave them on the story or...  
> If you're on tumblr, find me at whostheblondegirlwriting . Asks/messages for your comments/questions/etc. are always open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 2 of February Issue  
> The second half of Sebastian's interview.

How hard was that to pick out?

"I wanna say it wasn't that hard, but it was a little stressful."

Did you look very long?

"I looked around a bit online, went to a few jewelry stores, that kind of thing. I called her mom and her one friend to see what they thought."

Any help?

"Not really." :Sebastian shakes his head with a helpless shrug: "Apparently, it wasn't something they ever really talked about, uh, so they didn't really know what to say. And you can't just bring it up over lunch, because, obviously, you're gonna give it away, right?"

Right! So, where did the ring come from finally? How did you decide?

"It came from Harry Winston."

Very nice.

"She actually wore it before. She wore it to the Globes," Sebastian said, extending a hand forward to make note of the event.

You gave her the ring she wore to the Golden Globes?

:Sebastian nods shyly: "Yeah."

Why?

:Sebastian licks at his lower lip, leaning on one arm to shift in his seat as he bites his lip with a smile: "You had to be there."

Kinda wish we were.

:Sebastian laughs: "You had to be there 'cause there's just no way to describe it. She got ready at a hotel near the show. And I go to meet her there and she comes out of the bedroom in that dress."

That dress.

"I know, right?" Sebastian enthusiastically agreed, reaching a hand out; eyes wide, brow high, and with an adoring grin. "Yeah, so, she's just stunning. I, uh-" :Sebastian takes a long blink, a small cough of a laugh from a fond smile on his lips as he considers what to say: "I couldn't take my eyes off of her. And Harry Winston gave her all these diamonds to wear, right? So, um, she's got this ring on her hand and it's...it's just as gorgeous as she is and I can just see it. She doesn't think she's a glamorous girl, she doesn't see it that way. All the clothes and the jewelry and stuff, that's just playing dress up. She loves sweatpants and jeans and t-shirts. But, that night, she was glamorous and if you coulda seen the way her eyes sparkled at that ring..."

Why not just use it as inspiration? Why was it that one?

"You know, actually, I did see some things like it," Sebastian noted. "Some really good looking rings, pretty similar to it."

What was the difference?

"'Cause that was our ring," he said confidently. "I think that it was what it was. It was something that I knew right away she liked, like, a lot. But she's not the kind of person to say something or go on about something like that. And that night, uh," :Sebastian rubs and pulls at his chin, thoughtfully: "that was kind of a moment for us."

Kind of a big moment.

"Kinda, yeah," Sebastian agreed, shy for a moment before continuing. "So, I mean, she's just beautiful, she's got these diamonds, just head to toe, and it's the first time that people will know we're together. Our families knew, of course, and, uh, some friends knew, but this is it. And everything was perfect. The whole night, the show, the parties. It was just such a great night for us, our friends, and the film."

There's some good times associated with that ring.

"There are," he nodded. "So, that was a big part of it. Um, I mean, that ring was there for all that and it was something that she picked out, from all the things Harry Winston has, she picked that one to wear for part of our big night. So, for all that looking around, I realized, I just thought, 'Well, that's the one. She already picked it out. I gotta get her that one'."

So, you just pick up the phone and go, 'This is Sebastian Stan' and ask for the ring and they ship it over? How'd you get it?

"I almost didn't," he said, reaching to pick up his drink to hold and brow furrowing briefly as he cleared his throat quietly. :Sebastian takes a sip of his drink: "Yeah, we had to track it down. Obviously, it'd been a few months and it was in LA then and all I could think was 'Shit, I hope someone didn't buy it'." :Sebastian titters: "I, uh, I called them up and I'm, like, in my head, freaking out while they looked it up to figure out which one she had that night. And then they tell me what it was, but then the girl's like, 'I'm sorry, but we no longer have the ring in our store' and I just froze. I think I had a little heart attack."

Oh, my god!

"Exactly!" Sebastian said, excitedly. "Exactly. I was like, 'Where is it? I need this ring'. And the people at Harry Winston were so good, just so, like, over the top helpful. The girl puts the manager on the phone and I tell him what I told her, like, 'I gotta have this ring'. So, he checks some stuff and tells me the same thing, the rings not in the store, it's not even in LA, but they know where it is and let him make some calls.

Holy crap. Where was it?

"It was in Canada."

What the hell was it doing in Canada?

:Sebastian laughs, running his fingertips along the side of his head through his hair: "Right? It was in Toronto on loan to someone. The person lives in LA and was traveling for some event."

So, of course, you hailed a cab and told the driver to step on it to Canada.

"That'd be something, right? I wanted to," Sebastian nodded. "The guy from Harry Winston calls me back and says they looked up the person's info to call and one of the guys recognizes the name and says this person they made the loan to has a request in to buy the ring on their return. Like, it's a done deal."

No! They can't. It's yours.

"That's what I said. I said, 'Whatever they're gonna pay, I'll beat it. Just tell me a price'. So, he says to let him see what he can do, he'll call the buyer and see if there's a deal we can make or something else they can offer them."

Come on, guy from Harry Winston! I mean, we know he came through, but...

"I was sweating," Sebastian admitted, head tipping to one side in consideration. "I just stared at my phone, waiting, just completely freaking out 'cause what do I do if I can't get it? Ya know?"

How long did you wait?

"I think it was, like, an hour and a half maybe? But it felt like days."

I can imagine. Was it a hard sell for the other person to give up the ring?

"No," Sebastian shook his head. "No, the guy calls me back- Great guy. His name was Mike. He calls me back and says he explained the situation to the other buyer, um, that there was someone who had some sentimental attachments to the ring and wanted it for their engagement."

So, they didn't name drop you to kinda help persuade them?

"No names." :Sebastian waved a flat hand over the table: "They were real discrete, very professional."

And the other person gave the ring up for love or did they hold it hostage?

"For love, we'll say 'cause this is going out for Valentine's Day."

They tried to extort you?!

"No," Sebastian disagreed, with a small smile at the side of his mouth. "It didn't mean anything to them. They were happy to give it back. Harry Winston offered them some other options, invited them to the store when they got back to LA to pick out something comparable and the person brought the ring back at the end of their trip."

So, no fist fights in Canada to get the ring back, huh?

"It's a pretty disappointing story, isn't it?" :Sebastian laughs, shaking his head:

No! It's great. How'd you finally get the ring?

"It was a few days before the other person got back to LA, but, when they did finally, Harry Winston shipped it over to their New York store."

What a relief!

"Big relief!" Sebastian said, with a long nod and wide eyes. "Yeah, I didn't really feel good about it till I got to the store and they showed it to me."

That was, what? Still August?

"First part of September, after Labor Day," Sebastian corrected, putting his glass back on the table.

Blessings. Ring. Now, all you have to do is ask.

"That's it."

You had the ring in September. Why wait until December to pop the question? Nervous?

"Nervous?" he questioned, with his lips pulling open over grit teeth in a flash of an anxious expression. "That was part of it. I mean, come on. That's scary shit. What if she says 'no'?"

You thought she would?

"She could have," he shrugged, holding out a hand. "She actually could have."

Thank goodness she didn't.

"Thank god!" :Sebastian's head tips back in exaggerated relief, with a large smile:

:Interviewer laughs: I understand the way you did it was kind of a Plan B. It didn't go according to plan?

"No, not the way I planned it."

What happened?

"Well," Sebastian said, breathing in a deep breath, his eyebrows wagging up in thought. "I planned on her family and everybody being there. We were gonna go to dinner, to the Tea Room-"

The Russian Tea Room in New York?

"Yeah. Real nice place." :Sebastian gestured a hand out and tipped his head to highlight his approval: "She loves their chocolate mi-cuit. So, uh, I was gonna take her to dinner there and have our family and friends there, waiting, for when I ask her after dinner. And, as long as she said 'yes', then we'd have this little party there. Had, uh, like, a vodka tasting planned for everyone and stuff."

That sounds great. Why the change of plans?

"It snowed," he explained. "It snowed like a mothe-" :Sebastian pauses, considering his choice of words: "This snow storm blew in, cancelled flights. Basically just shut everything down everywhere, so people couldn't come in."

But, you had Plan B.

"I didn't have Plan B," Sebastian admitted, with a bashful smile. "I didn't plan on Plan A not happening. We got everything set up weeks in advance and then-" :Sebastian exhales, heavily: "then this storm comes up and..." :Sebastian shrugs: "What can you do?"

Were you pretty bummed about it?

"I was, yeah, pretty bummed," he nodded. "I mean, yeah, of course. We had this whole thing worked out, all these plans made, and it was gonna be such a nice surprise to have her family out there."

Did you tell her about Plan A? Was she bummed?

"I told her about it, later, yeah," Sebastian said. "'Cause I kinda thought I let her down the way that it did happen. You know, I had this whole big thing planned and it ended up just being us and..." :Sebastian shrugs: "I don't know."

But, she wasn't. She wasn't let down. She said 'yes'. She was excited.

"No. Yeah, if you ask her, she thought it was great," Sebastian smiled.

How did you end up doing it? What was the new plan?

"I didn't have one."

:Sebastian and interviewer laugh:

You must have done something right.

"I must have," Sebastian smiled, coyly.

Tell us how it happened.

"Well, we got all this snow, right?" he said. "It was a lot. I think, like, maybe 7 or 8 inches. And we're sitting at home and I was gonna make some coffee and asked if she wanted some."

You didn't make her cry over coffee again, did you?

:Sebastian laughs, boisterously: "No," he sighed, as his laugh wound down. "No crying over coffee, this time. I was gonna make some and she said she'd rather have hot chocolate, but we didn't have any. So, uh, she says she really wants some, it's perfect weather for it, she wants to go get some."

In 7 or 8 inches of snow?

"In 7 or 8 inches of snow," Sebastian repeated.

That's crazy. Just take the coffee.

"That's what she does," he shrugged, helplessly. "Anything can be an adventure with her. If she wants hot chocolate in 7 or 8 inches of snow, we're gonna get it."

And you're gonna go with her?

"Every damn time." :Sebastian nods firmly:

Was anyone even open?

"Yeah, they were," he nodded, sounding a bit surprised still himself. "We found a shop and got some hot chocolate and took it for a walk."

In 7 or 8 inches of snow? What's wrong with you two?

:Sebastian laughs: "The city's really peaceful when it snows like that," he explained. "She likes it. We both do. It's nice."

So, you proposed at the crosswalk, or what?

"No," he shook his head and took a drink of his cocktail. "We were wondering around and we stopped by Washington Market Park."

Probably had it all to yourselves.

"Pretty much. There were some kids there, playing in the snow."

Build a snowman?

"We did, actually," he laughed. "Just a tiny little guy, on the railing of this gazebo they got there, maybe like a foot high or somethin'. If there's snow somewhere, [y/n]'s gonna make a snowman."

Did you name him Parson Brown?

"Parson Brown!" he excitedly parroted, reaching out an upturned palm in recognition. "From the song. 'Winter Wonderland', right?"

Yeah. That's it.

:Sebastian laughs and shakes his head: "I don't recall him getting a name, but we shoulda done that. I'm gonna have ta tell her that one. She'll laugh."

Besides forgetting to name your snowman, what happened at the park?

"Yeah, that poor snowman." :Sebastian shifts in his seat, a small shake of his head with a musing smile for a moment: "Well, we were just kinda hanging out in this gazebo, [y/n]'s got her snowman and hot chocolate, and it's just really quiet. It's this, uh, like, real picturesque snow falling. It just kinda felt right, like a good moment."

You just happened to have the ring with you?

"I did," he admitted, shyly. "I actually was so nervous about it that I'd had it on me for days, like, in my coat pocket, thinking I gotta keep it close so she doesn't find it before we got to dinner. Then dinner didn't happen, but I still had it in my pocket."

Did she suspect at all? Did you get down on one knee?

"It was a complete surprise," Sebastian declared. "It was pretty cold and we were getting ready to go. What I did was, I was like, 'Let's take a picture with all this snow' and you can send it to your parents' because they hadn't had any snow yet. So, we take a selfie, you know, but it just kinda is us and you see it's snowy, but you don't get the whole effect of how much snow is there. 

"So, I take my phone and set it up on the railing of the gazebo to take this picture, so you can see all the park and the buildings and the snow coming down. I come back and tell her the timer's set up so we can get a really big, like, wide picture of this snow for them." :Sebastian holds up his hands, miming a wide angle view: "So, she thinks we got this picture and I ask her to get my phone 'cause I've picked up our hot chocolates. What I did was," :Sebastian pauses to chuckle briefly in his own amusement of the memory: "I set the jewelry box on the edge, like, on the floor of the gazebo, under the railing, when I had put my camera up, and I asked her, like, 'Hey, what's that?' and point it out while we're walking over."

So, you stashed her ring in the snow?

"I stashed the box there. She picks it up and she kinda looks at me like, 'What's this?', all suspicious. And she opens it up."

Oh, my god. This is so cute. What did she say when she saw it?

"She didn't say anything," he shook his head. "The box was empty."

You had it?

"I had it," Sebastian nodded, a mischievously proud grin pulling back one side of his mouth.

Aww!

:Sebastian laughs, bowing his head briefly: "Yeah, so, she looks in the box, and it's empty, and she looks back at me and I've got the ring in my hand, did the one knee."

What did she do?

"She did that girl thing, you know, where you guys, like, cover your mouth and hide. Her cheeks got real pink. Her cheeks get pink when she gets flustered. She'll probably be mad I said that one, too. But, I like it. It's cute."

Did she cry?

"There might have been a tear or two," he suggested. "Happy ones, thank god."

What did you say? Did you have a speech?

"Well," he said, briefly turning his gaze down bashfully. "I think, what I said was really just for her. But, just kinda generally, ya know, I told her I loved her and I want to spend every day for the rest of my life with her, if she'd have me, and 'Will you marry me'?

That's so sweet! A romantic walk in the snow with hot chocolate, building little snowmen, and then popping the question? Maybe your family and friends missed out, but that's still such a great story.

"Actually, they didn't miss out," he suggested. "I mean, they weren't there to see it in person, but I didn't take the picture. The phone was set to record a video. So, we sent it to everyone when we got home."

That's adorable! I love that. You're so sneaky.

:Sebastian shrugs with a humble smile:

When's the big day? Will it be a New York wedding or LA?

"I don't know?" he laughed. "We kinda really haven't gotten into it. You know, we just finished Christmas and New Year's. We'll definitely have to look at schedules and see how work's gonna play into the year."

So, it's sometime this year?

"No no no," Sebastian hurriedly cautioned. "No, I mean, like, we're not looking at anything specific like that. I mean, maybe this year. That could be a thing. I don't know. I guess it all depends on what she wants and how long it takes to put that together. I mean, me personally, I'd show up tomorrow and marry her in a bowling alley if that's what she wanted. If she wants to fly everyone to Paris and get married at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I'll be on the first flight out."

In a bowling alley?

"Yeah," Sebastian laughed, his eyes crinkling shut at the absurd idea. "A fuckin' bowling alley, whatever, man. I don't care when or where. If that's what would make her happy, I'll do it. As long as she's happy. All I wanna do is make her happy."

But, if you had to guess, what would you say?

"If I had to guess?" :Sebastian blew air out of puffed cheeks, thoughtfully looking up before answering: "Like, gun to my head, had to say something? I s'pose I'd probably say New York. I mean, it's more home than anywhere else for us, right now."

Maybe June at the Plaza?

"A June wedding at the Plaza?" he laughingly repeated. "Yeah, that's a pretty classic New York wedding." :Sebastian shakes his head, smiling with a shrug: "I don't know if we could pull that off this year, if that's what she wants, but that's an idea. I don't know. I maybe wouldn't mind a winter wedding."

Because Bucky Barnes and winter go hand in metal hand.

:Sebastian bursts into laughter: "Right? Yeah. No, I mean, winter for us just seems to be a good time of year. We seem to have a lot of our best times when it's cold, so, um, I don't know, maybe that's our thing. We'll figure it out eventually."

What are you looking forward to, down the road? Are there going to be any little Stans running around the house?

"Little Stans? That's funny," he smiled. "Any little Stans? Uhh, well, I mean, yeah." :Sebastian cards a hand through his hair with a nervous chuckle: "I'd hope so. Ya know, one thing at a time. But, yeah, a little Stan or two to terrorize my mom? That'd be pretty cool."

Have you guys talked about kids? Do you think [y/n] would make a good mom?

"We haven't really talked about that, no," he shook his head, adjusting to lean on the other side of his chair. "Not yet, anyway. But would she be a good mom? " :Sebastian's face wrinkles with feigned offense at the question: "Yeah! Definitely. She'd be great. We've got some friends who have kids, um, her cousin just had a baby last year. So, like, I've seen her with kids and I think, just from even those short kinds of visits and stuff, yeah, she'd be a very good mom."

Sebastian, I want to thank you so very much for talking with us today.

"Yeah," he eagerly agreed, straightening up in his seat. "Sure. No problem. Any time."

This was really so much fun and I appreciate you sharing so much.

"Well, it's for Valentine's Day," he noted, with a knowing pout and thoughtful raise of his hands in a shrug.

For Valentine's Day! Yes. Thank you again and we wish you and [y/n] all the best of luck and congratulations! We all just love you guys.

"Thanks! We appreciate it. Happy to do it," Sebastian smiled, reaching over the table to clink glasses with the interviewer and finish their drinks before the video ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments welcome! Leave them on the story or...  
> If you're on tumblr, find me at whostheblondegirlwriting . Asks/messages for your comments/questions/etc. are always open.


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